LEG07 - Along the river in the Park Valle del Lanza

Location: Bizzarone, province of Como, Lombardia region

Date: 4-18/07

Type: Environmental

Number of volunteers: 10

Age: 18+

Project summary: in an area rich of historical and natural witnesses, the volunteers will be engaged in maintenanceand cleaning work along Olona river, in the framework of recovery project for the safety of the Valley.

Description

Project: Legambeinte Varese has been collaborating with the Park Valle del Lanza since 2007, with the aim of protecting and promoting an area important for nature and for green tourism. The park was born with the aim of safeguarding the valley from the expansion of the urban areas and to improve sustainable tourism. The paths' net of the area is very important because is part of the “greenway” that connect Milano's area with Switzerland. www.parcovallelanza.com

Legambiente local group: Legambiente Varese Onlus, besides giving contributions to main Legambiente national campaigns, cares about the environment of the district of Varese since the eighties. Legambiente Varese coordinates 14 local groups of Legambiente volunteers and is the connection between local, regional and national offices of the association. It carries out several activities such as the management of natural areas, the organization of workcamps, environmental education addressed to youngest generations and promotion of environmentally friendly lifestyles.

Work: in the first part of the camp the volunteers work in collaboration with local volunteers and citizens, that are taking care of an important area near the river. In the second part the technical staff of the park will support the group in the maintenance of the bike road that crosses the park.

The work will be: footpaths cleaning and maintenance, removing weeds and rubbish, paint little bridges. On Sunday 10^th July the volunteers will participate in “Big jump”, the international campaign for living rivers.

Study part: Part of the time will be dedicated to study the natural characteristic of the Park focusing in the difficult relationship between man and nature near the river.

Accommodation and food: Volunteers will be hosted in tent (provided) with camp-beds and they'll use a common kitchen with canteen. There will be an environmental friendly diet with local and seasonal products and little meat.

Location and leisure: The Park is located between the provinces of Como and Varese, immersed in the green of the first Prealpine foothills, in the lakes’ region and at the beginning of the great plan of the Po river.

The park surface follows the river Lanza till it reaches its end in the River Olona; the valley is covered with several kinds of vegetation and rich of animals’ presences. The Park is crossed by the old “Valmorea” railroad, now used for tourism with little steam trains.

Language:

English will be the official language in the camp. Italian speakers are welcome.

Terminal: Milano Malpensa, Malnate train station

 

LEG08 - Camp8: scattered camp in VIII municipality of Rome

Location: Rome, Lazio region

Date: 8-23/07

Type: Renovation/Environmental

Number of volunteers: 15

Age: 18+

Project summary: a scattered workcamp where volunteers will renovate and revitalize the territory and community of a suburban area of Rome.

Description

Project: The project has been conceived by five no-profit associations who ordinarily work for the valorization of the VII Municipality of Rome and the revitalisation of its local community.

The aim of the workcamp is to valorise some green areas scattered in the district, areas that normally are managed by different active citizenship realities and that face the current critical problems of a big city. The volunteers will focus their efforts in 4 green areas through ordinary maintenance and self-construction workshops for do-it-yourself furniture.

Local organisers:

The Comitato Parco Giovannipoli was established in 2013 following the failure to care of the Park of the Catacombs of Commodilla, with the objective to keep it alive and usable for citizenship.

Since its inception, the Comitato Parco Giovannipoli has been playing an important work of maintenance, bringing an almost complete restoration of the Park; the work has been also recognized by the City of Rome with the award of custody of the Park from July 15, 2014.

Legambiente Garbatella promotes since 1992 initiatives related to urban, mobility and waste issues. The most important result of its actions has been the creation of Garbatella Park which, through a 20-year engagement, has been involving citizens, associations, local administrators and obtained the official custody of the area by the Assessorship to Environment.

Nessun Dorma has been organizing since 2010 cultural and aggregating activities in a dormitory suburb area, and it is particularly committed in recovering abandoned green areas to make them culture and sociality cores.

La Strada is a social centre focusing on antiracism. Since ’90 it has been collaborating with the local institutions in order to foster bottom-up decisional processes; this experience led to the creation of the public agency Rights and New Citizenship, with an help-desk for the citizens’ rights and networks’ development. From 2000 on, it starts working on migration, street education and information with many projects.

Villetta Social Lab is a social space where youth, families and elder people find a place to express and to practice social innovation.

Work: in the first phase of the camp the volunteers will create urban furniture through self-construction workshops, in particular for collected waste areas, informative panels, benches and tables, gazebos, compost structures; in the second phase the volunteers will install the furniture and dedicate to the cleaning of the green areas, mainly waste and grass removal.

Daily activities during the whole camp will be the ordinary maintenance of 2 green areas (baskets emptying, ordinary cleaning and gates’ opening and closure.

Study part: workshops about self-construction, do-it-yourself and upcycling will be run, with the supprt of architects.

Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in a school. The diet will be mainly Mediterranean (vegetables and cereals, little meat)

Location and leisure: the VIII Municipality of Rome is wide 3,7% of the whole city territory and has 130.000 citizens, with 66 families. It includes both central and suburban areas, with working-class conflicting zones.

During the free time the volunteers will have the chance to visit Rome, with its unique and amazing historic assets.

Specific Requirements: Rome in July is usually very hot, be prepared for it!

Language: English will be the official language in the camp.

Terminal: Rome stations (Termini and Tiburtina are the main stations) and airports (Fiumicino or Ciampino).

 

LEG09 - Renaissance of the Occitan community

Location: Ostana, province of Cuneo, Piemonte region

Date: 9-23/07

Type: Environmental

Number of volunteers: 10

Age: 18+

Project summary: Ostana is a laboratory for a new way of mountain life style. Alpine architecture preservation, identity and community are the basis for its sustainable development.

Description

Project: Ostana is a small Occitan village located in the upper Po Valley (1300 mt) in front of the Monviso peak (3841 mt). In the last decades a careful work has moved Ostana into a small laboratory for a new way of mountain life style, focusing on architectural quality, identity and community, environmental and tourism sustainability. For these reasons the village has been awarded with the 2015 “Premio Vassallo” for its good political practices.

These practices have also the aim of enhancing the value of the little alpine village with its peculiar and traditional community.

Legambiente local group: Legambiente Barge is active in several environmental fields. Its proximity to the Monviso group gives a special focus to mountain topics such as offer of sustainable tourism and mobility, promotion of local culture, tradition and food. The association is involved in several campaigns on water and wood management, waste disposal.

Work: The volunteers will help in the maintenance of mountain paths and public green areas. They will collaborate with some works in a hamlet under restoration, future site of a School of Sustainability.

The volunteers will contribute to translate some promotional materials in foreign languages and help the running of the Cultural Centre Lou Pourtoun.

Study part: The project of a Sustainibility School will be illustrated; young farmers and shepards will explain mountain agriculture and pasture; the volunteers will also meet with experts of the Po Natural park.

Accommodation and food: The volunteers will be hosted in the Foresteria (hostel) built by the municipality beside the new cultural centre Lou Pourtoun in Sant’Antonio hamlet. The structure is run by young people who decided to build their future in the mountain. The Foresteria includes two rooms of 6 beds each and a common kitchen and dining room.

Location and leisure: Ostana is a small village in the upper part of Po Valley (1300 mt) with an extraordinary view on the Monviso group. The participants will be surrounded by Occitan culture, with some artistic events, as Lanterna Digital, movie Occitan festival, gastronomic and dancing festivals.

Possible activities during free time: trekking in Ostana paths and/or toward Monviso group and the spring of Po river; visiting of Saluzzo area with its medieval history.

Specific Requirements: The volunteers should be prepared to live in a mountain environment, willing to walk and with appropriate clothes and equipment.

Language: English will be the official language in the camp. Rudimental Italian or French is recommended.

Terminal: The nearest airport is Turin while the nearest railway station is Savigliano.